John August Movies
- 2012
Revolutionary Road's Sam Mendes takes a shot at bringing Garth Ennis' popular Preacher comic to the big screen with this Columbia Pictures production. The Vertigo series, published from 1995-2000, revolves around a possessed preacher who leads a revolt against God in a violent trip across America after the deity steps down from his place in heaven. Big Fish's John August provides the scripted adaptation. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2011
Tim Burton's 1984 short film Frankenweenie is resurrected for the big screen with this stop-motion 3-D remake, which will once again center on a boy who reanimates his dead terrier and the suburban fallout that occurs because of it. Big Fish screenwriter John August provides the script for the Walt Disney production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Writer/director John August ponders the metaphysical aspects of life and art in an episodic allegory that follows three artists as they embark on a soul searching journey of fate versus free will. When a troubled actor is placed under house arrest in "The Prisoner," his imagination begins to run wild due to the fact that his spirited publicist and cynical neighbor provide his only link to the outside world. Later, after the planes of reality fold in on themselves during the production of a Project Greenlight-style show which documents the filming of a popular sitcom in "Reality Television," "Knowing" follows a successful video game designer and his family as they become stranded in the middle of nowhere due to automotive issues. Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, and Melissa McCarthy star in a drama that peels back the layers of reality to ask whether or not mankind really has any control over his ultimate fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, (more)
- 2005
- PG
- Add Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to QueueAdd Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to top of Queue
Director Tim Burton brings his unique vision and sensibility to Roald Dahl's classic children's story in this lavish screen interpretation. Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) is the secretive and wildly imaginative man behind the world's most celebrated candy company, and while the Wonka factory is famously closed to visitors, the reclusive candy man decides to give five lucky children a chance to see the inside of his operation by placing "golden tickets" in five randomly selected chocolate bars. Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), whose poor but loving family lives literally in the shadow of the Wonka factory, is lucky enough to obtain one of the tickets, and Charlie, escorted by his Grandpa Joe (David Kelly), is in for the ride of a lifetime as he tours the strange and remarkable world of Wonka with fellow winners, media-obsessed Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry), harsh and greedy Veruca Salt (Julia Winter), gluttonous Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), and ultra-competitive Violet Beauregarde (AnnaSophia Robb). Over the course of the day, some of the children will learn difficult lessons about themselves, and one will go on to become Wonka's new right hand. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also stars Christopher Lee, James Fox, and Noah Taylor; the book was famously adapted to the screen before in 1971 under the title Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, with Gene Wilder as the eccentric candy tycoon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, (more)
Tim Burton returns to the dark but fanciful animated style of The Nightmare Before Christmas with this stop-motion black comedy. Victor (voice of Johnny Depp) lives in a small European village in the 19th century, where he is pledged to marry Victoria (voice of Emily Watson), a partnership arranged by their parents. The two only meet the day before their scheduled nuptials, and Victor performs disastrously in the wedding rehearsal. Later that evening, while he is walking through the woods and hopelessly practicing his vows, he puts Victoria's wedding band on what looks like a branch. Victor quickly discovers this was a big mistake; as it happens, he has put the ring on the skeletal finger of the enchanted Corpse Bride (voice of Helena Bonham Carter), who then whisks him off to a dark and mysterious netherworld where they are now married. Victor is frightened in the land of the dead, and even realizes that he has fallen in love with his true fiancée Victoria, so he searches for a way back to his own world. Directed by Tim Burton in collaboration with animator Mike Johnson, Corpse Bride features a stellar voice cast, including Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Richard E. Grant, Joanna Lumley, and Danny Elfman (who also composed the film's musical score). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, (more)
- 2003
- PG13
- Add Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle to QueueAdd Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle to top of Queue
The three most glamorous and butt-kicking private detectives in the business are back and ready to take on bad guys in this sequel to the 2000 blockbuster screen adaptation of the once-popular television series. Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy Liu) are once again summoned to the office of their boss Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), where they're introduced to his new right-hand man Jimmy Bosley (Bernie Mac) and given their latest assignment. It seems a pair of rings have gone missing and need to be recovered, but this was no ordinary jewel heist -- the rings have been coded with special information that can be used to access a list of every person in the FBI's Witness Protection Program, and when a handful of protected informants are murdered, the Angels are brought in to help crack the case. As the women search for the culprits, they encounter Madison Lee (Demi Moore), one of Charlie's former agents who decided that the wrong side of the law pays better, and Seamus (Justin Theroux), who once dated Dylan and wants revenge for her decision to turn him over to the police. Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc return as (respectively) Natalie and Alex's love interests, as does Crispin Glover as the Thin Man; John Cleese, Robert Forster, and Eric Bogosian also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, (more)
For years, Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on a pretty girl. There's nothing so strange about that, or even that the girl in question is the famous actress Drew Barrymore. What is unusual is that Herzlinger decided to do something about it. Herzlinger was flat broke and out of work when he won 1,100 dollars on a game show, and decided it was time to make his dream come true -- and make a movie about it at the same time. Herzlinger and a friend bought a high-end video camera at an electronics store with a 30-day, "no questions asked" return policy, and with his 1,100-dollar bankroll, they set out to find a way to meet Drew Barrymore and have Brian take her out on a date before they ran out of cash and had to return the camera. My Date With Drew is the document of Herzlinger's struggle to live out a regular guy's dream. My Date With Drew won the Audience Award at the 2004 HBO Comedy Arts Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Tim Burton directs the fantasy drama Big Fish, based on the book Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Southern writer/illustrator Daniel Wallace. Billy Crudup plays William Bloom, a young man who never really knew his dying father, Edward (Albert Finney) outside of the tall tales he told about growing up, making his way, and meeting his mother (played as a young woman by Alison Lohman and in older age by Jessica Lange). During Edward's last days, William and his wife Josephine (Marion Cotillard) hold bedside vigil as the old man recollects elaborate memories of his youth (in which he is played by Ewan McGregor). Still doubting the the legends and folklore, William makes a journey to meet a mysterious woman (Helena Bonham Carter) from whom Edward had bought property. Steve Buscemi and Danny De Vito also star. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, (more)
They're beautiful, they're brilliant, and they can kick your butt -- the most glamorous private eyes in the world are back in action in this big-screen adaptation of the popular '70s television series. Natalie (Cameron Diaz) is the smart but silly one, Dylan (Drew Barrymore) is the tough but fun-loving one, and Alex (Lucy Liu) is the classy but hard-as-nails one, and they work for a man named Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), who never meets his employees face to face. Along with their helper Bosley (Bill Murray), the Angels are sent into action when electronics genius Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) is kidnapped, with the nefarious Roger Corwin (Tim Curry) as the prime suspect. But they soon learn even bigger danger is afoot -- the kidnappers have gotten their hands on Knox's latest invention, a system that can monitor voice communication from anywhere in the world, virtually ending the notion of private conversation. Charlie's Angels also stars Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, Kelly Lynch, and Tom Green. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, (more)
Titan A.E. combines cel and CG imagery in this science fiction saga. In 3028, after the Earth is destroyed by an invading alien race, a tiny number of surviving humans roam the universe in ragtag spaceships, trying to find each other and maintain some sense of community. Shortly before the final destruction of the planet, Cale (voice of Matt Damon) was given a map that would guide him to a space station called Titan, secretly constructed as a last hope in the event of alien Armageddon. Cale sets out in search of Titan and the fabled Ice Planet with the help of his friend Korso (voice of Bill Pullman), the beautiful Akima (voice of Drew Barrymore), and a crew of friendly aliens. Titan A.E. was directed by noted animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman and scripted by Ben Edlund, creator of the comic book series The Tick. Other members of the voice cast include Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo, John Leguizamo, and Tone Loc. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, (more)
Director/cinematographer Doug Liman's third feature links together three edgy stories, all beginning in the same Los Angeles supermarket with an interconnected group of characters. Ronna (Sarah Polley) is a down-on-her-luck checkout girl who is sweet talked into taking an extra shift from her friend Simon (Desmond Askew) so he can go to Las Vegas. Ronna is then approached by two good-looking actors, Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr), who want to buy drugs. Ronna, who needs money, plans to act as a go-between between the actors and a dealer friend of Simon's, Todd (Timothy Olyphant), until a cop named Burke (William Fichtner) enters the picture. Meanwhile, Simon is living it up in Vegas; in the course of a very wild night on the town, he manages to bed two women, accidentally steal a car with his good friend Marcus (Taye Diggs), and get thrown out of the best strip club in town, with more than a few people after him, especially when he leaves behind a credit card he borrowed from Todd. Once again back at the supermarket, Adam and Zack turn out to not be quite what they seemed, and their relationship with Burke and his wife Irene (Jane Krakowski) takes an unexpected turn as their evening becomes very, very complicated. Go, Liman's long-awaited follow-up to his indie hit Swingers, received its World Premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Polley, Desmond Askew, (more)
